“Hey, brother. You got a minute?”
“Yeah.” He turned to look at me as he continued, “I could use a break anyway.”
“You having any luck on finding Schommer?”
“I think so. Just have to follow up on a couple of leads, and if everything goes the way I think it will, we should have this guy by the end of the night.”
“Damn. That’s awesome.”
“Will be if this is really the guy.” His eyes narrowed. “He who you wanted to talk to me about?”
“No, not exactly.” I walked over and sat down in the chair next to his desk. “I wanted to see if the club could use another bartender.”
“Not that I’m aware of. Why?” Concern crossed his face. “There a problem I should know about?”
“No, that’s not why I asked.”
“Then, why are you asking about a new bartender?”
“You know Country’s grandmother runs Crockett’s, right?”
“Yeah, I know all about Gladys.” A smirk crossed his face as he continued, “She’s great and all, but I don’t think she’d be a good fit for Stilettos, brother.”
“Not talking about Gladys, asshat. I was talking about Marlowe. She’s been working there for over a year, and now that Gladys is closing Crockett’s, she’s looking for another job.”
“You think she’s got what it takes to work here?”
“Wouldn’t have mentioned it if I didn’t. I told her to come by tonight so she could check things out, but figured I needed to make sure we had a place for her before I said anything more.”
“Yeah. We could always use an extra hand, but you know, I’ll have to look into her before we actually hire her.”
“I figured as much, but I bet it’s doubtful you’ll find anything. All the girl does is work.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but gonna check all the same.”
“Understood.” As I got up, I told him, “I’ll find out what she thinks about this place tonight and let you know.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Before walking out, I looked back over to him and said, “Let me know if you need any help with the Schommer situation.”
“You know I will.”
Chapter 6
Marlowe
Rafe did little to prepare me for my visit to Stilettos. I could only assume he’d thought I’d been to a strip club before, but I hadn’t. I’d seen one in a movie or some crazy TV show, but I’d never actually stepped foot inside one—until now. When I first walked into the club, I was hit with blaring music and flashing strobe lights, throwing me into an immediate sensory overload. With all the scantily dressed women bustling around the different tables and strippers gyrating on the stage, it was like I’d entered another world. I tried to hide the fact I was feeling out of sorts, but it was a lot to take in, especially when you’ve been as sheltered as I had. I’d only been to Crockett’s and a few random nightclubs, so I could only imagine the expression on my face as I followed Rafe over to the bar.
When we sat down at the counter, I tried to swallow my feelings of insecurity, but I knew I’d failed miserably when Rafe leaned over to me and asked, “Not what you were expecting?”
“Yes and no.” It was hard to put into words what I was thinking, so I just shrugged. “It’s nothing like Crockett’s.”
“It’s more like it than you might think.”
“How so?”
“Just like over there, people come here for a good time. They have a couple of drinks, enjoy the company of a few friends, and”—a sexy smirk crossed his face as he motioned his hand behind us—“we serve the same booze.”
“Well, Crockett’s doesn’t have a DJ.” I pointed above my head. “It doesn’t have all these bright, flashing lights, and in case you didn’t notice, it doesn’t have all the sexy strippers. It just has me.”
Rafe’s eyes grew intense, and his voice low and gruff as he replied, “If you ask me, you’re sexier than any woman in this place.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m not kidding, Marlowe.”
“Sorry, but I find that a little hard to believe.” I glanced over at the stage, noting the dancer’s perfect figure and hair, and the sudden rush of insecurities made it difficult for me not to think of Kate. She, too, had a way of making me feel inadequate in so many ways. I hated it then, and I hated it now. Trying my best to shake the feeling, I feigned a playful smile and motioned my hand over at the dancer. “I mean, look at her. She’s absolutely gorgeous. Every guy in here is fawning all over her.”
“Yeah, she’s beautiful, but there’s no comparison between you and her. Hell, there’s no comparison between you and any of the women here.” He leaned in close enough for the warmth of his breath to caress my neck, then whispered, “If you could see what I see, then you’d know just how fucking tempting you really are.”